What Type of Therapy Is Aromasin?

Aromasin is an aromatase inhibitor used in hormonal therapy for breast cancer patients. It's used as an adjuvant treatment, provided after radiation therapy, chemotherapy or surgery has been used to treat the cancer.

How Aromasin Works

• Estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer is fueled by estrogen production. Aromasin blocks the enzyme that produces estrogen in aromatisation, the biological process that converts androgens to estrogen and the primary source of estrogen production in post-menopausal women.

Who Can Take Aromasin

• Aromasin is for post-menopausal, estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer patients. Patients must have completed two to three years of treatment with the estrogen inhibitor tamoxifen. Women who have had early-stage breast cancer as well as patients with advanced breast cancer that spread following tamoxifen treatment may be treated with Aromasin.

Side Effects

• Aromasin's most common side effects are hot flashes and nausea. These tend to be mild in most patients and are easily controlled. Less common and more severe side effects include headaches, bone and joint pain and fatigue.

Clinical Trials

• A Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine study demonstrated that breast cancer recurrence was cut by one-third in patients who began Aromasin therapy after completing their tamoxifen treatment. Only 9 percent of the study group suffered a recurrence of their cancer.